Impression taking means



Nov. 2, 1948. E. G. COFFEY IMPRESSION TAKING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Feb. V 18, 1946 Inventor 1 EIIIIKGIEEIFFEY y am Nov. 2, 1948. v E. G. COFFEY 2,452,903

' IMPRESSION TAKING MEANS Original Filed Feb. 18, 1946 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor EMT Er: GUFFEY y WM! ma Patented Nov. 2, 1948 PATENT 2,452,903 IMPRESSI QN ux. i We Original application February '18, 1946, Serial No.

"648,220. 'Dividd and this application Febru'- ary 21,519 16, Serial No. 649,139,:

This invention, relates to. means for taking imressio s su r; oduci pe dentures accordingto the method disclosed in my -p n ns appl c ion; pon D i l techniq Serial No. 648,220, .filed February 18, 1946, of which the present application constitutes a division.

Generally stated, the present. invention embodies a dental tray into which plastic impression material; of thin consistency, may be jorced, and mechanical means for securing the impression tray within the mouth and againstthe gums with a constant uniformpressure insufficient tocause pressions of the gums for producing, an upper denture, which ewsi nqn tructedin wwwance with thepresentinvention and illustrated as itappears in use.

Figure 2 is a perspective view pf thehead band employed for Supporting theplamp used to hold he impression y. in siti n w thin th mout Figure 3 is an enlarged perspectiveview of ,the clamp" Figure 4 isan enlarged front perspective viewof the keeper plate for-,the plamm Figure 5 isarear perspective view of the device shown in Figure 4., c

ef n i detail t6 t eidrawines t epresent means or equipmentinoludesa headband A a, spring clarnp B supported bythe headband, an

impression tray adapted to be heldinrroher,

position withinthe mouth and against, the gums y e h d a A n th h e p15minsagun,v

Dior forcing the impressionmaterial into the tray Citofill the space between, said tray andithe,

gum

Th h a tc mh lis s. a m n ban meme berBadapted to be passed about the, upper portion of the head in the region of the brow and equipped at one end with suitable bucltle 6 S0 ,thatnthe n memb ra e securely-ta tenedin place, Arcrownstriap l hasitsendsattached to the band member 5 so as to support the latter against downward creeping, particular1y.. at, the front and backoi the head. Atthe front, the,

band member 5 isprovided with a pairof :adjacent, t il-terwockets 81 o rem vable eception, of th depending-tongues,Stprovided on; and, at

the back of a, keeper plate Ill whichhas :a pair of s'pacedkeeper socliets ll on the iront eotl Inthis way, the keeper plate is r'entova tached to, the headbanch and it is ada" 5 suvportthe clamp B i meer erlwhi e W ently become apparent. y i U As shown, the clamp B includes a, intern-leer formed from a singleupiece'of wire to pro a substantially U-shapedjaw l2 f 10,, downwardly longitudinally, and 'st' gatedspace'd 1egs'l3fex ridingifiomfthe"fend the jaw at an acute angle ,tojthe latter and upward direction}, The lgs'lS' aperturesinma pair e spe eesu er Qs plates IA and ,lSQjand separation joif t plates is limited by means of 'stop t 16 on the legs I3, beneath the I5 is attached to legs "I'3,atl1 Th vided at an intermediate pointw t a 'crp's I8 of flexible wire. A pair'of spaced rods 9.1 nd rou h fu th r o en sifithe,

l4 and I5,an d theserqdsgareattac e q I 4 at Zll and have st o'p lugs f aboveplate w limit separationof the plates l4 and15 fA he ends 22 adapted to been d of t kee e p a e. 10 t s q e'r i n n. t th pat nt a the jaw 12 projecting rearwaialy 'rit fth idut The lugs 16 andill, 2|,jbydimiting se tion of thefinger plates l Al -and [5, als'o lirnit n1 it the hb fz lliow dihei 12-3 n cling the legs l3 andjrod s Illjhetween the fin plates I4 an I5 are helical coml'liflss'ion and wh h a t .s pera mei at [5 to the limit of separation and ther: y ntr t e amp Bi fi n ii w jaw is located at'its of t thejhooks 22;" As nection wtih theheadband'A to hold the impre sion tray C in plaee'wi in the patients me and to press the tray against theg un switna limited ainount'of pressure as to'fndt t ese" ,1 the tray to distort the gums; The pressure may? be properly adjusted'in any suitableway and'fby' any suitable means accordingitothe conditions presented by eachparticular patient, suchta's by flexing the jaw I2 relative to the legs [3 toward;

or away from the hooks'22,

As shown in Figurel, the tray C, isgenerally of conventional form, to pro vide the recessjii; for ec pti n f h mpr siqn ma er a Hqwe ve a he f ontthe t i r vided iw thia QJkn wardly projecting nipple 26 which opensinto the;

upper ends, the rods were revised with h" ke ore stated, the clarnp i utilized in conrecess 25 of the tray through the front of the latter as at 21, thereby permitting the impression material to be forced into the tray through said nipple while the tray is supported in proper position within the patients mouth and against the gums. The nipple 26 is preferably of horizontally flattened form so as to comfortably protrude from the patients mouth.

The gun 4 is of the syringe type and includes a cylinder or barrel 28 provided with removable caps 29 and 30 on the opposite ends thereof, the front cap 29 having a tapered flattened outlet nozzle 3| adapted to snugly fit in the nipple 26. Slidable in the cylinder or barrel 28 is the usual piston indicated by dotted lines at 32, said piston being carried by a rod 33 that slidably projects through a central aperture of the rear cap 30 and is equipped upon its rear end with a handle 84. The cap 30 carries a pair of finger rings 35. In practice, the cap 29is removed and the piston 32 is retracted so as to permit filling of the barrel or cylinder 28 with the impression material in a state of thin consistency. Cap 29 is then replaced, and nozzle 31 is then inserted in the nipple 26, whereupon the piston 32 is forced forwardly so as to discharge the impression material into the tray C. In order to enable the operator to quickly determine when the space between the tray and the gums'has been filled with impression material, said tray is provided along its rear edge with a series of apertures 36 through which the impression material may escape. As soon as the material appears at the apertures 36, the operator discontinues feeding of the impression material to the tray, so that there will be no extra impression materialsupplied which will run into the patients mouth and cause discomfort or gagging. The tray C is provided at the bottom with transverse grooves 3lfor selective reception of the intermediate transverse part of the jaw l2, while the cross piece, [8 is arranged to bear against the under side ofthe tray C at the front thereof as shown in "Figure 1. In this way, the clamp is effectively inter-engaged with the tray, and the latter is properly supported to bear uniformly against the gums throughout.

In use, after the required amount of impression material has been supplied to the tray, the gun is removed and the tray is allowed to remain in position until the impression material has set.

Due to the thin consistency of the impression material, the manner in which it is supplied to the tray, and the manner in which the tray is held in position against the gums, no distortion of the gums takes place, and a true impression is had of the gums in an undistorted condition. This insures production of a denture which will not unduly press against the gums or distort them and which will accordingly remain tight in the mouth. As soon as the impression material has set, the clamp B and the tray is removed, together with the head band A. It will be seen that the invention provides for the production of impression castings which are uniformly accurate, while re construction, such as fall within the scope oi the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. An impression taking device including a tray for use in taking impressions of the gums in producing complete upper dentures, said tray being provided at the bottom with a transverse groove, and means for securing the tray within the patients mouth and yieldingly pressing said tray against the gums, said means comprising a head band and a spring clamp suspended from the front of said head band and having a rearwardly extending lower jaw spring-pressed upwardly and embodying a transverse part adapted to seatin said transverse groove of the tray.

2. An impression taking device including a tray for use in taking impressions of the gums in producing complete upper dentures, said tray being provided at the bottom with a transverse groove, and means for securing the tray within the patients mouth and yieldingly pressing said tray against the gums, said means comprising a head band and a spring clamp suspended from the front of said head band and having a rearwardly extendin lower jaw spring-pressed upwardly and embodying a transverse part adapted to seat in said transverse groove of the tray, and a crosspiece arranged forwardly of said transverse part to bear against the underside of the tray near the front of the latter. a

3. An impression'taking device including a tray for use in taking impressions of the gums in producing complete upper dentures, and means for securing the tray within the patients mouth and yieldingly pressing the tray against the gums, said means comprising a head band and a spring clamp suspended from the front of said head band and having a rearwardly extending lower jaw spring-pressed upwardly and having a transverse part adapted to engage and extend across the underside of said tray. I

4. An impression taking device including a tray for use in taking impressions of the gums in producin complete upper dentures, and means for securing the tray within the patients mouth and yieldingly pressing the tray against the gums, said means comprising a head band and a spring clamp suspended from the front of said head band and having a rearwardly extending lower jaw spring-pressed upwardly and having a transverse part adapted to engage and extend across the underside of said tray, and a cross-piece arranged on said lower jaw to bear against the underside of the tray near the front of the latter,

5. The construction defined in claim 3, wherein the head band is provided at the front with a pair of spaced sockets, said clamp further including upper rod members provided with upper downwardly directed hooked ends removably' engaged in said sockets.

6. An impression taking device including a tray for use in taking impressions of the gums in producing complete upper dentures, and means for securing the tray within the patients mouth and yieldingly pressing the tray against the gums, said means comprising a head band and a spring clamp suspended from the front of said head band and having a rearwardly extending lower jaw spring-pressed upwardly and adapted to engage the underside of said tray,said clamp including a lower member formed from a single piece of wire to provide the lower jaw in substantially U shape and curved downwardly longitudinally, and spaced elongated straight legs extending upwardly from the ends of said jaw, a pair of spaced superposed finger plates through which said legs extend, the upper one of said finger plates being attached to said legs and the lower one thereof having the legs slidable th'erethrough, a pair of spaced rods extending through said finger plates, the lower one of said finger plates being attached to said rods and the upper one thereof having the rods slidable therethrough, stop lugs on the legs beneath the lower finger plate and on the rods above the upper finger plate to limit separation of said finger plates, compression springs 0n the legs and rods between the finger plates, said rods having hooked upper ends, and sockets on the front of the head band in which said hooked ends are removably engaged.

EARL G. OOF'FEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

